If you’re facing redundancy, it’s important to be aware of the redundancy process to understand your rights and ensure fair treatment.
Objectivity
Redundancy is when you lose your job because your employer needs to reduce the amount of staff they have, such as if they are trying to cut costs, are being taken over, or are closing down.
Employers should choose which job roles they might make redundant, rather than which specific staff members. These roles are then at risk of redundancy. It’s important that they remain objective when deciding who is at risk of redundancy, such as by looking at staff skills or disciplinary records, rather than simply deciding which staff member they personally prefer.
Individual Consultation
You are entitled to an individual consultation with your employer if you are being made redundant. You are allowed to ask a union representative to accompany you if you’re a member of a trade union, or could request a friend or colleague to go with you.
This meeting allows you to discuss why the redundancies are necessary, why your role is being considered for redundancy, any alternatives available to redundancy, and any questions you have.
Collective Redundancy Rules
If your employer is planning to make 20 or more employees redundant within a 90 day period at one establishment, they are also legally required to hold a group consultation. This must take place 30 days before anyone’s job ends, or 45 days before anyone’s job ends if 100 or more people are being made redundant.
This will take place between your employer and a representative. This will either be a trade union representative, or if you are not represented by a trade union, or your employer doesn’t recognise your trade union, an elected employee representative.
With a group consultation, your employer should provide your representatives with details on:
- Why they are making redundancies
- How many roles will be made redundant
- How to keep the number of dismissals to a minimum
- Which areas of the business they will choose people from
- How they plan to select employees for redundancy
- How they will calculate redundancy payments
- How to limit the effects for employees involved, e.g, by offering retraining
Suitable Alternative Employment
If there is another job available which you have the required skills for, your employer may offer you it. This is known as suitable alternative employment.
If you accept this before the end of your notice period you will no longer be eligible for any redundancy pay.
However, not taking the job could also affect your right to redundancy pay if you turning it down is deemed unreasonable. If you believe the alternative employment you have been offered is not suitable, you can make a claim to an employment tribunal.
If you are on maternity or other types of parental leave when being made redundant, your employer must offer you any suitable alternative jobs if they exist. If your employer has suitable alternative employment and do not offer it to you, your redundancy could be classed as an unfair dismissal.
Redundancy Pay
If you are made redundant, you employer will inform you how long you are expected to stay at work until your job ends, which is your notice period. They will either pay your normal wage until the end of your notice period or end your job with immediate effect and give you all of this pay at once, known as a pay in lieu of notice.
As well as this renumeration for your notice period, you may also be entitled to statutory redundancy pay. You only qualify for statutory redundancy pay if you have worked for your employer for at least 2 years. This is a one-time payment based on your length of service.
You will get:
- Half a week’s pay for each full year you worked for your employer if you were under age 22
- One week’s pay for each full year you were between 22 and 40 years old
- One and a half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older
The length or service is capped at 20 years, so if you have worked for your employer for longer than this time, only the last 20 years of your employment will be considered.
You can calculate your statutory redundancy pay here.